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AHA MEDIA encountered a local Vancouver Downtown Eastside Aboriginal/Native man named Sherman as he was shopping at the Astoria Hotel Cold Beer and Wine Store on Hastings Street in the Strathcona neighborhood of Vancouver

AHA MEDIA has known Sherman for a number of years and always regarded him as an always smiling, happy go lucky man with a postive attitude! 🙂 He enjoys making people laugh with his easy candor and quick wit.

In this video, Sherman thoughtfully gives his insights on the changes in the Vancouver Downtown Eastside (DTES). How some things are better, the same and worse in our community.

AHA MEDIA further learned that Sherman had a private school education which would explains his knowledgeable articulation on camera and awareness on issues endemic to our area.

This video was filmed by April Smith of AHA MEDIA on a Nokia N95 mobile cameraphone. April is passionate and skilled in making Nokia films by exploring mobile media production through the camera lens of a cellphone. For a better quality version of this video, please DM April Smith @AprilFilms on Twitter.

The 1st Annual Youth Fashion Show educated youth about healthy lifestyle choices. This year’s fun, flashy, fashion fundraiser features Youth models aged 10-17 and their own personal vlogs on how they maintain a healthy lifestyle.

The Youth Department of the JCCGV has grown tremendously. Over 70 teens per day utilize the department. This influx of involvement has prompted the need for new programs. Our vision is to create an annual fundraiser to enable the Youth Department to enhance its amenities, increase supervision, and introduce program scholarships. The program has been very effective and its participants have developed into upstanding citizens with a strong sense of community.

Programs Include:

Maccabi Games, Team Vancouver,

EIDAN Leadership Development,

Karate lessons,

Dodge Ball tournaments,

Soccer and Hockey skill programs,

After school care for grades 4-7,

Weight room training,

Community partnering programming,

Good ole “just for fun” programs,

Annual battle of the bands.

If you have any questions or require additional information about these programs, please contact Lu Winters at 604-257-5111 ext 207

The 1st Annual Youth Fashion Show educated youth about healthy lifestyle choices. This year we have added the interactive twist of Video blogging (VLOG) and you are invited to participate.

Vancouver, April 23, 2009 – The Vancouver Police Department is instructing Dunbar residents to call 911 whenever they see “beggars” on Dunbar Street.

“The Vancouver Police Department has instructed Dunbar Community Patrollers to call 911 when they see beggars on Dunbar Street and I would urge you to do so too,” wrote Linda MacAdam, Chair of the Dunbar Community Patrol, in an email to residents. MacAdam noted that these instructions were confirmed by Sergeant Randy Regush of the Vancouver Police Department.

Vancouver ranked last among 13 North American cities surveyed in terms of police response times, according to a 2007 report to Vancouver city council. The report called for increased funding for police officers to address the slow response times, which for a 911 break and enter call stretch to 34 minutes on average. The current yearly VPD budget is over $195 million, almost one-quarter of the City’s total budget.

“In 2008 Vancouver police spent thousands of hours ticketing Downtown Eastside residents for minor bylaw infractions, and in the West Side they treat legal panhandling as a 911 emergency,” says Laura Track, Pivot’s housing campaign lawyer. “Every year the VPD asks for more funding, but people need to ask if harassing poor people is how they should be spending that money.”

“This is just another example of a broader pattern of criminalizing poverty and restricting poor people’s lawful access to public space.”

“I was shocked to see this message advocating that we call 911 when we see a beggar” syas Randy Puder, a West Side resident. “What a waste of tax money. The homeless need compassion and assistance, not police making their lives even more difficult.”

Pivot’s mandate is to take a strategic approach to social change, using the law to address the root causes that undermine the quality of life of those most on the margins. We believe that everyone, regardless of income, benefits from a healthy and inclusive community where values such as opportunity, respect and equality are strongly rooted in the law.